Introduction

KL City Centre is synonyms to where Petronas Twin Tower located and often quoted as the COG of Klang Valley, being the focal of the commercial activities and where most of the wealth are created. Petronas Twin Tower is also the home of Petronas, the sole Malaysia Company in Fortune 500. Many of the public listed companies also set the base here and not surprisingly some of the most expensive real estate are located here. You can read PROPCAFE™ Guide on the link here to have general understanding of KLCC residential market.

The arteries leading to KLCC such as Jalan Mahameru from West, Jalan Kuching from North, Jalan Ampang from East and Jalan Loke Yew/ Sungai Besi from the south are bringing thousands (if not millions) of cars into KL City on daily basis. Obviously being such prominent spot offer attraction to acquire available land. For example in 2007 MahSing bought a 4.76 acres land along Jalan Sungai Besi for RM52mil which developed to what we know today as SouthGate. In July 2015, Binastra has acquired the 4.07 acre freehold land which used to house Volkswagen Show Gallery for RM96m. For more details clicks the link here. Recently Binastra has pre-launch the development, Trion. Read on for PROPCAFE™ Review.

Developer background

Binastra used to be contractor and built condos such as The Treez for Exsimz. They turned to be developer themselves and being a cash rich company, Binastra develops their project without bridging loan. This gave assurance to the buyers their financial muscle to complete a project without relying heavily on the sales. Binastra previous launches such as Green Residences @ Cheras, Citizen 1 & 2 @ OKR and The Reach @ Titiwangsa were well received by buyers. For The Reach @ Titiwangsa review by PROPCAFE™, you can click the link here

Being the private company, the information of the company is quite limited and would rely on hearsay as well as media release by the company. Nevertheless Binastra seems to be quite a solid developer and has been delivering for the past projects.

Now Binastra is developing their most ambitious RM1.3b GDV development so far, Trion.

Location, Accessibilities and Surrounding

Located approximately 6.5km away from KLCC, Trion is located along Jalan Sungai Besi. If you know where Southgate and Wisma MahSing is, the site which used to be ex-Volkswagen Show Gallery already demolished and currently busy with Trion construction work.

Jalan Satu, Dua and Chan Sow Lin are famous with small medium industrial area, workshop and service center, hardware shop and even a self-storage warehouse. The roads are narrow with vehicles haphazardly parked along the road. The MRT2 which is currently under construction also does not help the traffic around the area.

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If you are coming from KLCC, Trion is easily accessible as it is simple turning off Jalan Sungai Besi. Even though the 3 blocks Trion will be prominent landmark, it is much trickier if you are coming from South, PJ or KL Sentral, as you cannot make U-Turn at Loke Yew Roundabout. The best bet would be relying on Waze.

Masterplan, Concept and Façade

From the website, Trion has loading up plenty of the USP of the development

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Propcafe likes the GBI idea on mixed development however developer needs to elaborate what is value proposition to the purchasers. Developer needs to fulfill GBI requirement in order to obtain the certification. It can be time and effort tedious however the reward the building to be more energy efficient. However upon the completion and to maintain the certification, JMB needs to pay the fee which can be quite expensive affair.

Mercure Hotel being part of the mixed development, will also offer house-keeping, laundry, event and catering to the residents. The concept is promoted in luxury or branded condotel however Propcafe wonders how many residents will need such novelty service given that it is quite expensive.  

There are 3 blocks in total in Trion. 2 blocks of 66 storeys serviced apartment and another 57 storeys block consists of 37 storeys serviced apartment and 19 storeys Mercure Hotel. In total there are 1344 units of serviced apartment spread across 3 blocks and 235 hotel rooms. The density of Trion easily worked to be 330 units, on par (or higher) with development such as M Vertica @ Cheras and RC Residences @ Sungai Besi.

The first 7 storeys will be 38 retails and more than 2000 carparks to serve the needs of residents and hotel guests.

Developer has mitigated the high density units by providing quite a generous lift ratio for each building. Developer has split the lifts to low and high zone like what UOA did with SouthView and Southlink for more energy efficient and better lift management.

Block	Total Units	Passenger Lift	Lift Ratio
A	536	6	89
B	592	6	99
C	216 hotel rooms	4	54
C	235 hotel rooms	4	59

• Each block will have a service lift

PROPCAFE™ was not impressed with the façade. Despite the effort to weave the facilities deck located on level 8, 55 and 66^th on block A & B and Level 21 on block C, the façade was too busy probably due to the high plot ratio.

Trion is expected to be landmark in this part of Kuala Lumpur as they are no other 66 storeys building (The tallest residential in Kuala Lumpur so far is Four Seasons with 65 storeys). Hm.. At this location where surrounded by industrial area…

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Do click the link here  for the developer’s Trion promotional video.

Amenities

The developer brochure lists plenty of impressive amenities ranging from healthcare, education, shopping malls, major landmark etc. However the landmark seems to be neither here and there. Chan Sow Lin LRT station (post 2022 will have MRT station as well) is easily 1km away and given the current road condition, it is not and conducive walking condition. Approximately 300m away from the LRT Station the walkway will be covered.

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Developer offers shuttle service however again… the cost involved in maintaining the vehicle as well as driver. If developer just supply one MPV it may not be sufficient to cater for 1344 serviced apartment and 235 hotel guests especially during the morning and evening peak hour.

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The nearest shopping mall is Mytown which is approximately 2km away. However do not be easily deceived as the Jalan Tun Razak is famous for congestion especially the traffic light in front of Jalan Pasar. Propcafe^TM would suggest prospect buyers to perform self-due diligence by exploring the locality of Trion.

Facilities

Facilities in Trion are spread over 4 levels across the 3 blocks

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• Ground Level
• Level 8^th

• Level 54^th on block A and 55^th on block B. Both are linked with sky bridge
• Level 66^th on each block A and B
• Level 21^st on Block C

On the ground floor, there are 38 units of retails to serve the residents and hotel guests. Each block will have dedicated lobby and drop off area with theme Bolt, Neo and Sheen.

Landscaped plaza also located on the central of the ground floor

Myriad of facilities available on Level 8 to keep residents of 1344 units occupied. Notable facilities such as Olympic length swimming pool, Lagoon Pool, Multipurpose cum 2 badminton courts, Amphitheatre and Half Basketball Court

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Artist impression Facilities on Level 8^th

Level 54^th on block A and 55^th on block B is linked with Sky Bridge. Developer has incorporated Viewing Lounge and Floating Cube to take advantage of the majestic KL Skyline view

Artist impression Facilities on Level 55^th

Developer has sacrificed penthouse by building rooftop garden and starry lounge for the enjoyment of residents

Artist impression Facilities on Level 66^th

Unit Layout

There are 27 variance unit layouts in Trion however it can be simply grouped to 7 layouts (including type D1) with minimal variance between them.

The size is ranging from 689sqft (2 bedroom, 1 bathroom) to 1055sqft (3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms). 2 bedrooms 1 bathroom forms quarter of total units and 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms take up another 60% of total units. The balance 13% are 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms variance.

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The layout in general is squarish and efficient. Most of the bedrooms are facing outside except intermediate variance A where the bedroom will be facing the airwell.

What caught PROPCAFE’s eyes is wide living and dining area which allow more natural light to permeate through the unit. Most layouts also dual keys ready where minimal renovation for the conversion.

The show units from brochure for type A~F.

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This is the generic specification for each unit. Developer will provide all relevant points (water heater, aircon etc), tiles on bedroom. Nothing fancy. The unit is partly furnished by developer with standard such as aircon, water heater and kitchen.

Pricing

The net PSF quoted to PROPCAFE is from below RM700psf with generous rebate scheme is offered. For KL City Skyline view, additional 5% premium loaded on type C. The maintenance (inclusive sinking fund) is targeted at RM0.36psf. for type A, the fee is worked to be less than RM250 per month.

Conclusion

The targeted completion for Trion is 3^rd quarter 2024, easily more than 5.5 years away despite construction is ongoing now.

A long way for an under construction property (as well as the progress interest). There are plenty of facilities offered and Binastra is trying to impress the prospect buyers. Or we can interpret the developer is working hard to make Trion a better development in order to make up for the lack of location and surrounding? Hm…. Some of the service such as shuttle may turn out just to be gimmick IF just one shuttle Van provided, it will not able to cater for the crowd in peak hour.

By end of this review, PROPCAFE still couldn’t “visualize” twin 66 storeys building on this location and neighborhood.

Till then, Happy Hunting Folks!